Tag Archives: Midsummer

For Finns, Midsummer at the end of June means celebration of the long white night, also called the nightless night. In Helsinki this means that the sun sets at 10:50 pm and rises already a couple of hours later at 3:55 am. In the northern part of Finland the sun does not set at all. The nightless night (yötön yö in Finnish) and the midnight sun (keskiyön aurinko in Finnish) of the Finnish midsummer make a great contrast to the darkness of the wintertime.The streets of Helsinki, the capital of Finland, fall fairly silent during the long Midsummer (Juhannus in Finnish) weekend when most locals head to the countryside to their summer houses by a lake or by the sea. However, there are plenty of events and festivals to enjoy under Helsinki’s midnight sun, too. Continue reading →

Originally a celebration of the summer solstice, Midsummer (juhannus in Finnish) taking place at the end of June, is today the main national holiday in Finland. Midsummer is the celebration of the summer, light and the long white nights, also called the nightless nights, as the sun barely sets below the horizon.

Midsummer is often seen as the beginning of warm summer weather as many Finns start their summer holidays on Midsummer Eve. People leave offices and workplaces early on Thursday afternoon and flee to the countryside. Continue reading →